The Assam government has issued a strong warning to tea estate owners, threatening to withdraw incentives worth ₹150 crore if they continue to oppose the distribution of land rights to tea garden workers. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma made the announcement on January 2, 2026, criticizing non-cooperation from some estate managements. He emphasized that the legislation aims to rectify historical injustices, stating, "When the British brought tea workers to Assam, they made them work as slaves. Over time, laws gave them humanity but not dignity. Today, that mistake is being rectified."

The landmark 'Assam Fixation of Ceiling on Land Holding (Amendment) Bill, 2025' received the Governor's assent in November 2025. Under this law, tea garden workers living in labor lines will be granted land rights (pattas) for the land they currently occupy for housing. The land cannot be sold for 20 years, and after that period, it can only be transferred to another tea garden worker family. The initiative is expected to benefit 333,486 tea worker families across 825 tea estates, covering a total of 218,553 bighas of land.

The move is widely seen as a strategic political decision ahead of the upcoming Assam Assembly elections, expected within the next three months. The tea garden worker community forms a significant vote bank in the state, and a large section of this community shifted support toward the BJP in the 2016 elections. By granting land ownership—a long-standing demand of the workers—the government aims to further consolidate its support base in these crucial constituencies.

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The Consultative Committee of Planters' Associations (CCPA) has opposed the legislation, arguing that the Assam Plantation Labour Rules do not permit earmarking or distributing garden land as pattas. They contend that labor quarters and line areas are statutory facilities mandated under the Plantation Labour Act, 1951, and cannot be converted into transferable ownership rights. The planters' body also points out that the state had previously acquired large tracts of land from tea gardens under the 1956 Ceiling Act, allowing estates to retain only the land required for tea cultivation and essential purposes such as factories, hospitals, and worker housing.

The government's firm stance and the threat of withdrawing substantial incentives have intensified the debate between tea estate owners and the state administration. As the controversy unfolds, the legislation is poised to have far-reaching implications for the welfare of tea garden workers, the economics of the tea industry, and the political landscape of Assam in the run-up to the next Assembly elections.

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